I live only a block or so from a very large slough where these creatures are abundant. Inevitably some find their way into my yard so I usually pick them up with a shovel or trowel and relocate them to the empty lots across the street. If they had some purpose in the yard, for example if they ate SLUGS!!!, I would let them stay. Otherwise, they're just downright ugly.

When they curl up their tail they must emit some smell because my dog will cringe back from them when that happens.

We generally have a fair number of herons (Great Blue and Night Crowned) at that big slough in late summer/fall, I suspect that the salamander population is good eating for them.

Nice!
I love these guy's too, here they're mostly black, ...have seen one about a week ago wandering in the garden when I picked beans, about 3 weeks earlier one got trapped in the bird netting I had over the bush beans,...he was lucky, didn't seem to cut into the skin but was very close.

Lucky to be alive...

That's so cool, I had no idea we had salamanders here.

My husband works in sewer and water and he sees them all the time down in the pipes. He calls them alligators! :)

Oh, this first pic is so cute, with his different colors.

Have them here too. All different colors. Our sloughs are full of them. Our local environmentalists says it means our ecosystem is in balance. C

Konrad, I think I like my salamander a bit more, though yours is also really cool, lol. I hadn't known of these creatures even existing in Alberta! I'm fascinated by all of god's creatures and even enjoy all types of spiders, including those huge hairy buggers one sees in late summer, all having a purpose! Though, of course, I'm very happy to squish slugs, grasshoppers and other destructive pests.

Yea..I like your friend's color!
But...remember, we shall all love them equal, I migth have to steal some of your colored one's, and.. LOL.

Bdgardener is rigth, this includes frogs, when you have these, it also tells you that your water is is not polluted,...a good indicator.

I've seen them for over 20 Year's, one's in a while, my girl's loved to hold them when they were little....what a nice smoooooth skin they have!

Oh...this reminds of a field day in school, [Switzerland]. I was about in grade 4, we went to a local tiny little pond in the forest, it was not more then about 2X4 meter long, everybody knew that this little pond was the only one in the whole county were Salamanders lived in many colors, it was always nice to see, wish I could go back one day and see if it still exist.

Snips and snails and puppy dogs tails.....that's what ittle boys are made of! I love this conversation! Even though I am female all the way, I am such a tomboy at heart. And a certified animal nut. Terry, you can have your spiders and you can have mine too! I have one young lady who is spinning to keep my house together! I'm worried about the winter!

Konrad. I so enjoyed your little story about home. You must miss it. Did you have to leave such a beautiful place?

I have lots of magpies. What does that mean? Besides the fact that they are so very well fed here! Lol!

Today, I carefully checked to see if I could find my salamander friend, that late last fall, I had placed within a burrow next to the foundation of the house. As I dug, sure enough I had seen the soil begin to heave a bit and then a head moving side to side and eyes blinking, I said my hello and then brushed the soil back over him to wait a bit longer before he is to make the spring voyage back to the nearby marsh.

Konrad, I also enjoyed your back home salamander story.

Terry that is sooo cool you have a salamander in your yard. Ive only seen one once in the river valley when I was a kid. I have never seen one since.........

Run into a big one yesterday...second this year but the largest ever seen.

WOW! I never knew that we get these guys around here!!! Thanks.

That is a big fella you've got in your hand Konrad. I've yet to see any this year, only a dead one that I came across while visiting a wetland area east of Edmonton.

Yeah..probably a old one,..the darker the older, tonight when checking northern pocket gopher traps there was one in the tunnel.

The first time I see these guys in the pond...there must be more then a hundred! Didn't know that they have gills like this, apparently larvae stage. Seen various sizes, small and large...this one is about 2 or 3years old according to one site and loose gill in about age 4 when they go on land, [only go to the water when breeding], some say only several month in the larvae stage. I must agree on the latter because of seeing small and large. They get to be about 15 years old.

Those will be crawling all over your land soon. we used to catch tons as kids in all different stages and grow them to adult form. If you wanna see something cool with these guys catch a few and put them in a 5 gallon bucket. Drop small frogs in and its entertainment even for the adults lol. They also love live minnows. We probably starved the poor things when we were kids but it was like watch crocadiles feeding. Sometimes they even fight over a frog.

These are called tiger salamanders.

they are still so cool to me. Its very hard to find big ones like that konrad. Take care of him :)

WOW, I guess they really must like your pond Konrad, I've never come across them during their development stage, they look rather prehistoric. I found one a few weeks ago while it was crossing the sidewalk next to the house, I set it in the pond and he showed me some of his swimming skills.